North of Spain itinerary. Day 6: Picos de Europa

These are the chronicles of my road trip through the north of Spain with my cousins in the Spring Break of 2019. It is a 11 day itinerary that spanned from the French Basque Country to Asturias, including the way from and to Barcelona (where I currently live). On the sixth day we moved from Cantabria to Asturias through the Picos de Europa mountain range, one of the most beautiful in all of Spain.

This was my road trip team (I’m the one on the front left)

Car route through Picos de Europa

We designed a driving route through the mountain range Picos de Europa that took us through some of the mountains and valleys in the very heart of the mountain range. Tiny isolated villages, lonely roads and breathtaking nature were present all thoughout our day!

Map of the driving route

We woke up early because we had a long day ahead. The view from our room was absolutely fantastic in Posada Peñas Arriba in the little village of Lon. We had breakfast, which was included in our stay, and took the car to start our driving route!

The rest of the morning was a fantastic succession of lonely roads, flanked by peaks and breathtaking views. It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip, and one of the most beautiful roads I have seen in my life.

Road to Caín de Valdeón

The first part of the route was an ascent and descent towards the mountain town of Caín de Valdeón. We had our first stop at the viewpoint Puerto de San Glorio (at approximately 1609 m over sea level), with incredible views to the valley we just came from and to the snowy mountains we were going to. The viewpoint is little more than a fence and a table, with a bronze sculpture of a doe, but the scenery is fantastic.

That’s me feeling excited and tired and failing at posing for a picture

We next moved to the town of Portilla de la Reina, a small town embedded in the middle of high peaks, and a viewpoint very close to it: Mirador de Pandetreve. This viewpoint offers incredible views of the mountain ranges of Urriles and the central range of Picos de Europa.

We drived towards Santa Marina de Valdeón and Posada de Valdeón, with amazing views on the side.

We had a stop at Mirador del Tombo. With the low fog, the mountains were stunningly beautiful. We next moved to Caín de Valdeón, the trekking capital of the region.

Senda del Cares

Caín de Valdeón is a very tiny village (it currently has 58 inhabitants) located at a very low altitude (460 m over sea level) in the middle of the mountain range Picos de Europa. This gives it a very scenic look, surrounded by high peaks.

The village started to become popular as a starting point to many of the trekking trails of the region, the most popular one being Senda del Cares. This trail follows the river Cares in the gorge it made in the mountains. This canyon was, for many years, the only way to connect the towns of Caín de Valdeón and Poncebos in Asturias during the snowing season, being the only way to provide food supplies.

This gorgeous trail is around 12 km long and is very walkable, since the difference in altitude is minimal and it is well connected through caves and bridges along the gorge.

All throughout the trail you will have fantastic views of the surrounding mountains, the river, and some unexpected visits from wild animals, like this eagle we saw.

We couldn’t finish the trail because of timing. It is only 12 km long, but since it is the only way to connect the two towns, we had to go back to get the car. The trail can be done in both directions, and you can start (or finish) in Posada de Valdeón instead, making it longer.

We continued towards the Principality of Asturias (one of my favourite regions in Spain!) through the towns of Caldevilla de Valdeón and Oseja de Sajambre, always with the permission of the sheeps!

Our final stop of the driving route was the Asturian town of Cangas de Onís.

Cangas de Onís

Cangas de Onís is a small city with a big history. It was the capital of the Realm of Asturias until the year 774, being the only region in Spain to resist the Muslim forces and the first Christian realm to establish after the defeat of the Visigoths by the Muslims.

It is located in the merging of rivers Sella and Güeña. River Sella is very important in Asturias, as it is the road to the canoeing race Descenso del Sella, which starts in Arriondes and finishes in Ribadesella, and has become on of the most important canoeing races in the world.

There are remnants of human life in the city since the Paleolithic times (with the caves of Buxu and Azules as well as Salmula, Trespando and Culebre from the Neolithic), but the first proper settlement was established by the Romans.

Among the things to visit in this beautiful town are the church of Santa Cruz, the church of Santa María, the palace of Cortés and the symbol of the city: the Roman Bridge (which is actually not Roman).

We stayed at Hotel Avelina on the outskirts of Cangas de Onís. The hotel itself is not beautiful or fancy, but it is much cheaper than most hotels in Cangas de Onís, the restaurant where they serve the breakfast (which is included) has nice views and the staff of this family-run business is absolutely delightful and helpful.

Santuario de Covadonga and Covadonga Lakes

One of the reasons we stopped in Cangas de Onís is the proximity to the region of Covadonga, where the Basílica de Santa María la Real de covadonga stands next to the Holy Cave of Covadonga, a Catholic Santuary within a cave with a waterfall.

On the side of the waterfall you will find Fuente de Siete Caños (“Fountain of Seven Pipes”). The legend says that if you drink from all of the pipes, you will marry within the year.

Also in the region of Covadonga, there is a fantastic trail around the Lakes of Covadonga. This trail is at 1134 m of altitude and goes around two glacial lakes: Lake Enol and Lake Ercina, located still in the Picos de Europa mountain range. You can walk the 12.6 km that separates Covadonga from the lakes or start directly at the lakes.

Travel tip: it is important to notice that seasonally the access by car is closed and the area must be accessed by designated buses starting at Cangas de Onís and Covadonga, among other stops.

The trail of the lakes is only 6.8 km and the terrain is very flat, so it is very easy to walk, even in footware not typically adequate for mountain hiking, but it is stunningly beautiful with the views of the mountains surrounding the lakes.